Chris' journey to end his multiple sclerosis by undergoing a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at the Ottawa General Hosptial. This blog will show his entire treatment and all the highs and lows along the way.

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Friday, November 5, 2010

Day 23- Medical Marijuana

Today has been much the same as yesterday. No new illnesses or balding.

So I will use this opportunity to talk about something that I have recently become very passionate about. Yes medical cannabis. Not that I personally need it or use it. But if you were in extreme chronic pain and had to choose between taking large doses of chemical pain killers such as OxyContin and Percocet (which carry the risks of addiction, liver damage and even death) or eat a tasty dessert that has been mixed with a cannabinoid like THC (which has the risk of...........developing a voracious appetite?) I think I would definitely choose the latter. Medical cannabis does not necessarily have to be smoked. It can be administered in many ways, such as vapourizing, drinking, eating and by taking capsules.

Medical cannabis can be used in the treatment of nausea, vomiting, premenstrual syndrome, asthma, migraines, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and is even found to be beneficial in treatment of patients with Alzheimers. Multiple sclerosis has many symptoms that can be treated with medical cannabis such as muscle spasms and pain. As a patient who has multiple sclerosis and is currently going through a stem cell transplant involving high doses of chemotherapy I hope that it is apparent why I have recently become so passionate about the topic of medical cannabis. The anti-nausea medications that I was on after my first dose of chemo had so many side effects that had to be treated with other drugs. These drugs had side effects that had to be treated with a tertiary line of medications that also had side effects. So if a pill containing THC could be taken instead without any serious side effects, then hand it over.

I am happy I live in a country that is willing to open their eyes and see the benefits of this natural plant. It is legal for licenced practitioners (licenced to practice medicine in Canada) to prescribe medical cannabis. It took a long time to get to this point, but I am definitely proud to be a Canadian.

In the United States, the majority of the US states still do not allow the use of medical cannabis, despite its proven benefits. The US government has even paid to have studies conducted to research the benefits and risks of marijuana. The findings showed that there weren't really any serious risks with using marijuana. It is not an addictive drug and you can't overdose on it. There were many medical benefits that needed to be further researched. But because they have been telling people that marijuana would cause them to commit crimes and want to do other drugs like heroin for so long ,they decided that turning a blind eye to the facts would be the best idea for the American people........or at least for their political agendas. I think that it is wrong to put someone in jail for up to 5 years because they are trying to ease the pain that results from their chronic illness. But enough said. I feel I could go on forever about this topic and I'm probably no longer making sense, so I will end my ranting with a few links for those who are interested in this topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM_vLk1I6G4 (This was an actual anti-marijuana film that was released in 1938 and financed by a church group that intended it to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the "dangers" of cannabis use.)